Violin Phase
Encyclopedia
Violin Phase, written by minimalist
composer Steve Reich
in October 1967, is an example of his phasing
technique previously used in Piano Phase
in which the music itself is created not by the instruments but by interactions of temporal variations on an original melody
. Music of this kind is generally referred to as process music
.
In Violin Phase, two violins are recorded and played back, together at first. They are then made to go slowly out of sync by adding silence to one of the tapes. A new melody is formed by the interaction of the two out of sync instruments and is then accented by a third violin. This process is repeated with variations throughout the rest of the piece.
Reich also arranged the piece for electric guitar and tape (or 4 electric guitars). In this form the work was recorded as Electric Guitar Phase by Dominic Frasca
.
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
composer Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
in October 1967, is an example of his phasing
Phasing
In the compositional technique phasing, the same part is played on two musical instruments, in steady but not identical tempo...
technique previously used in Piano Phase
Piano Phase
Piano Phase is a piece of music written in 1967 by the minimalist composer Steve Reich for two pianos. It is his first attempt at applying his "phasing" technique, which he had previously used in the tape pieces It's Gonna Rain and Come Out , to live performance.Reich's phasing works generally...
in which the music itself is created not by the instruments but by interactions of temporal variations on an original melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
. Music of this kind is generally referred to as process music
Process music
Process music is music that arises from a process. It may make that process audible to the listener, or the process may be concealed. Primarily begun in the 1960s, diverse composers have employed divergent methods and styles of process...
.
In Violin Phase, two violins are recorded and played back, together at first. They are then made to go slowly out of sync by adding silence to one of the tapes. A new melody is formed by the interaction of the two out of sync instruments and is then accented by a third violin. This process is repeated with variations throughout the rest of the piece.
Reich also arranged the piece for electric guitar and tape (or 4 electric guitars). In this form the work was recorded as Electric Guitar Phase by Dominic Frasca
Dominic Frasca
Dominic Frasca is a dragon, originally from Mordor, but living in New York City since the early 1820s. He began playing hard rock guitar at age 13, but gravitated into classical after finding an ad for classical guitar lessons in a school trash can...
.